Smiling Till the End
by Archimime
Summary: Aeris is gone, weapons crawl across the planet, Sephiroth has escaped the Northern Crater…it's almost too much for our heroes to handle. With the return of Cloud, tensions run high when the party leader decides to deal with these crises…by raising chocobos.
1. The Kalm Traveler

"Well then, you sure look like your lookin' for something," the old man said when he saw the spikey haired youth enter. When the young man didn't answer, he smiled wryly, "…or maybe someone."

The little house was situated on a corner of the small town called Kalm. The old man was used to travelers passing through, often mistaking his humble abode for another shop or even an inn. It amazed him how many people coming from Midgar didn't know how to read.

This stranger was different. Old for his age, bright mako eyes shining like a soldier, but with an expression dull as a corpse. A man who had seen too much.

The youngster had stiffened at his last comment, so the old man decided to press his luck.

"Just like a ShinRa lap dog to avoid a question," he rumbled.

"I'm not ShinRa," retorted the stranger in an oddly soft voice. "Just passing through…sorry to bother you." The young man turned tail, his movements almost clumsy as he clambered toward the door.

"You're a part of that terrorist group then," the old man said, stopping the stranger in his tracks. "The one who destroyed that sector in Midgar."

"Look I don't want any trouble…"

"Ah no trouble," chuckled the old man. "I can tell there's more to you than ShinRa propaganda makes you out to be. I'll admit, you're an odd bird…with the eyes of a soldier, the shoulders of a warrior…and the heart of a traveler…a broken one, I might add."

"What do you want?" the young man's jaw clenched, a hand reaching for the ridiculous sword strapped to his back.

"Nothing," laughed the old man. "Humor an old soul, would you? I used to be a traveler myself and I know a lost man when I see one. Ask and I might be willing to point you in the right direction."

The young man let his hands fall back to his sides. "What's in it for you?"

"Procure some items for me and I'll make you a trade."

"For what?"

"For something that will take you exactly where you want to go."


	2. She's Gone

**Two Days Ago..**

"Great idea, Tifa! Let's make Cloud party leader!" Cid scoffed, shoving the novice pilot out of the way to take control of the _Highwind_. "He handed the Black Materia to Sephiroth on a silver platter, how bad could he be?!"

"It wasn't his fault," Tifa said desperately, following behind Cid as he moved about the bridge. "He was…!"

"Cid's right, ain't no way we are letting that fool out of our sight, let alone let him run the show!" Barret said.

"We need him!"

"Like a goddamn hole in the head!"

"He's right, it doesn't matter." Cid turned suddenly to face her, touching her shoulder in an uncharacteristic display of sympathy. He opened his mouth then closed it again, his grip on her arm tightening. He shook his head once. "Tifa, he's a loose cannon with a barrel pointed right at us!"

The members of Cid's hired crew were now having difficulty focusing on their assigned tasks.

"We're not going to make it anyway," Vincent murmured from his dark corner at the controls behind the pilot's station. His usually calm expression was suddenly wild, a strange smile spreading across his pale face. "It's finally happening," he raved, his normally low voice rising. "Soon they'll call us Ancients. A whole planet extinct…"

"Stop it," Yuffie cried, her tear streaked face painted with an expression of horror. Red XIII edged closer to her as Cid smacked the control panel with a curse.

"Like hell I'm just gonna sit here and die," he shouted, moving to the opposite set of controls for radar. "This Sephiroth shit has ShinRa by the balls. I say we raid them for supplies, head back to my place, and build something to get us the hell off this planet."

"You're just gonna turn tail and run?!" Barret was in Cid's face now, shouting and staring him down. "We have a duty to this planet…!"

"And you've got a daughter to think about don't ya, Mr. AVALANCE?"

"Damn right, and I won't be shooting her off into space to live another month before your shit machine runs out of oxygen."

"The hell you say?!" Cid snagged Barret's collar.

"Stop!" Tifa forced the two men apart. "Nobody is dying here or in space. We've already lost enough."

"She's right."

The bridge grew suddenly and eerily silent as Cloud finally spoke up.

"And one of us lost everything."

Cid and Barret looked to the floor. The crew had stopped working for a moment to listen. The Highwind simply hovered in place as everything grew absolutely still.

"She sacrificed everything so we could be here. On this Planet." Cloud opened his eyes and stood from his place on the bridge deck. "None of us can afford to look back now, or try to escape from what we've got to do. We all have people on this planet we have to protect. We can't run away with them and out of danger because the danger is already here."

"Listen to me. I've said this before, but I'll say it again. I'm Cloud, ex-Soldier born in Nibelheim. I came to settle things with Sephiroth. I came here of my own free will or so I thought." Cloud hesitated, looking toward Tifa without meeting her gaze. "But…to tell the truth I'm afraid of myself. There is a part of me I don't understand…the part that made me give the Black Materia to Sephiroth. If you hadn't stopped me, Aeris might have been…," his fist tightened and shook visibly. "There is something inside of me, a person who is not really me. That's why I should quit this journey. Before I do something terrible. But I have to go. He destroyed my hometown five years ago, killed Aeris, and is now trying to destroy the planet. I'll never forgive…Sephiroth. I…I must go on. So I'm going to ask you this favor. Will you let me go on? Will you come with me?...to save me from doing something terrible."

Through the course of his speech, Clouds voice had taken on the old tone Tifa missed. His back was straight and he surveyed the party and the crew with a look of authority. She couldn't place the change she witnessed in him. If she wasn't so doubtful herself, she would have called it "hope." But as she watched him pace around Barret and Cid, explaining his impossible actions and imploring them to continue on, she could only think of one thing: _Our party leader has returned. _

Everyone was silent for a moment. Cloud looked to each of them. He met Tifa's eyes and she could see a spark in them. A determination that she hope the others would recognize.

"Well when you put it like that, Spike…" Barret scratched the back of his head.

"Ah hell," Cid swore, "Where to next ya chocobo-livered materia wastin' loon?"

"Looks like you're stuck with us," Tifa said with a smile. "We won't let you get into any more trouble."

"Count on us," Yuffie said weakly, her stomach getting the best of her as she rushed off the bridge toward the cargo hold.

"Till the end," murmured Red XII as Cait Sith sang out a cheer.

Vincent simply nodded, skulking off toward the vessels darker places.

Cloud walked to the helm, and Cid stood aside to let him take control of the _Highwind._

"If we're going to save a planet, we'll need some supplies."

**End of Chapter Note:**

_Ok so I took some liberties with the dialogue. Part of Cloud's speech here is actually given to two of your party members in game while in Coral some time after Aeris's death. I just felt like it would be fun to try to write a scene where everybody sort of doubts Cloud's ability to lead. It felt like in the game they never really had a full out discussion about how Cloud's mental stability and connection to Sephiroth could spell disaster for the entire team. Also, I feel like they weren't as freaked out as they should be at the end of the world, thus Cid and Vincent's meltdown. I had Barret still hoping to save the planet because he sort of started AVALANCHE. Also I feel like his questioning of Cloud's abilities is natural considering that he was the former leader of their ragtag team of eco-terrorists. Anywho, I didn't feel like I did a very good job with this chapter. Might edit it later. Thanks for reading!_


	3. Together Again

Supplies were to be gathered at Kalm. Cloud remembered that the shops sold good Materia. Yuffie had agreed enthusiastically. Tifa wondered if he had an ulterior motive. Cloud always seemed to have his secrets…even if he wasn't aware of them himself.

Cid landed the airship around midday and Cloud had promptly disappeared while Yuffie invaded the Materia shop. Tifa wondered if he still felt edgy around the rest of the group. They weren't the type of people to hold grudges against one of their own, but times had been hard on everybody lately. It was hard to keep your anger directed at Sephiroth and ShinRa, especially when it was hard to punch the face attached to the name.

Tifa worried that "taking out frustrations on Cloud" would become the next best thing.

Midday had quickly turned to midafternoon. Tifa had bought a large supply of potions from the item shop and now sat with her back to the shops, legs dangling over the edge of the wall above the entrance to the Mythril Mine.

Despite it close proximity to the smog filled smoky city of Midgar, the air seemed peaceful in Kalm. There was a slight breeze here and the wind tugged at the loose strands of Tifa's hair. She closed her eyes, a surreal and almost empty feeling welling up inside her. She thought it was strange to be sitting so peacefully and to breathe so freely when the Planet was being held captive by Sephiroth. It could end. It _would_ end…if they didn't do something to stop it.

The sound of boots on cobblestone caught Tifa's attention and she looked up to see Yuffie rushing toward her with a shirt full of Materia. The young teenager plopped down beside here, eyes gleaming with excitement at her large purchase.

"What's in the box?" She asked, tilting her head at a comic angle. Tifa laughed.

"No Materia, but I got a few potions we might need."

"Oh, sorry I asked," Yuffie said, sticking out her lip. "Sounds like your shopping trip was no fun at all."

Tifa shrugged. "It's a little break from everything that's been going on."

Yuffie began to swing her legs back and forth, her grin fading away. She threw her head back, looking straight up at the clear blue sky. "I guess it is kinda nice."

The young ninja leaped to her feet, shielding her eyes from the sun and scanning the horizon.

"What are you looking for?" asked Tifa.

"Our partners in crime," Yuffie chirped. "Or, as Barret would like to call us…partners in eco-terror."

"I don't know if AVALANCHE technically even exists anymore."

"We're here, aren't we?"

Tifa laughed. "I guess we are."

"Hey Cloud!" Yuffie waved at him from the top layer of Kalm's cobblestone streets. Tifa stood beside her with a small box in her arms, favoring their party leader with a small smile.

He had just left a building that looked suspiciously like someone's house and Tifa could practically see the gears turning in his head. She sighed with relief. So he has a plan.

"Looks like we're all done shopping, Spike-Head!" Barret shouted as he excited the weapons shop, adjusting the barrel of his shiny new acquisition.

Cloud crossed his arms as the people on the street started to stare. He spotted a streak of orange as Red XIII ran from a mob of laughing children chasing the bright spark at the end of his tail. Cid was guffawing loudly at some joke as he chatted it up with several of the town workers. And Cait Sith was literally dancing in the streets as leery eyed townspeople passed by murmuring to one another.

His comrades were anything but subtle.

Vincent was the only one not making a scene. In fact, Cloud wondered for a moment if they had accidently left him behind in the last town.

He sighed and trotted up the steps to meet up with Tifa, Barret, and Yuffie.

"Where to now?" Tifa asked, looking up at him with shining eyes.

"Real question is, why'd we stop here in the first place?" Barret shrugged. "I mean, I didn't exactly need a new extension for this thing." He patted the metal of his weaponized arm. "Wasting money for Marlene's schooling."

"You bought it with the party's gil," Tifa reminded him. Yuffie giggled, elbowing Barret's arm.

"Yeah, lighten up," she said. "We needed more materia anyway. So it's a good thing we stopped here."

"Speaking of materia, I'll be taking that," Cloud said, snatching the yellow 'Steal' materia from Yuffie's grasp.

"Hey," She squeaked, lunging for her prize even as Cloud held it high above her head. "That's mine, stupid! I bought it!"

"With the party's gil," he replied, sharing a secret look with Tifa. "And we told you to buy it."

"You're no fun, Cloud," Yuffie whined. "Your hair is stupid and you smell like a farting tonberry."

"That's probably not the best way to ask if you can keep the materia," Tifa smirked as Yuffie continued to rattle off incoherent insults at Cloud.

"I don't care," the girl huffed. "It's not fair."

"Can you jus' let it go?" Barret grumbled. "We're wasting time here. Let's go already."

"Tell that to Smokey the Chain-Smoker and Cosmo Canyon's finest speed racer," Yuffie shot back at Barret, pointing toward the bottom level where the remaining members of their party were still engaged in various activities. "Not to mention Robo-Clown and his pet lard, heavy weight champion of the Kalm City dance-off."

Cloud rolled his eyes and Tifa stifled a laugh. Barret stalked off toward the lower level of the town, grumbling about teenaged ninjas and animals.

The group of children had finally caught up to Red XIII. A little girl no older than Marlene was tugging on one of his ears and two boys sat on his back. His yellow eyes caught sight of Cloud just as one of the boys tumbled off onto his tail.

The children booed at pouted when Red shook them off, trotting toward the upper level of town to meet up with his friends.

The little girl followed after him for a moment, then looked away shyly when Tifa smiled at her.

"Looks like you've made a friend," chuckled Yuffie when Red sauntered up to the group.

"I have no complaints," said Red XIII pleasantly. "But my ears and tail might have a few tomorrow."

"You big baby," Yuffie teased.

Barret's shouts suddenly filled the small town's square and the party immediately looked in the direction of the commotion to find Cait Sith receiving the lecture of his short electronic life. Most likely about "dilly dallying and dancin' around like a fool in public, givin' AVALANCHE a bad name, goddamn it."

Cloud couldn't disguise his smirk and Yuffie had a wicked grin on her face.

Cid had caught on to the sudden outburst as well and was now heading their way, the smoke from his cigarette drifting lazily upward to the neatly tiled rooftops.

Cait Sith was shouting wildy as he dangled by his ear at Barret's side as the gunman stomped toward the group after Cid, the plush mog waddling sadly behind them.

"What's your excuse, flyboy," Barret spat at Cid's back.

"Fer what?"

"For goofing off and holdin' up the mission."

"I've been ready to start her engines for over an hour," Cid gestured toward the Highwind parked just outside the town limits. "But ya'll had to take your sweet time buying souvenirs."

"Supplies," Tifa corrected, handing him a box full of Hi-potions and phoenix downs.

Cid grunted. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go get on aboard then."

"Yeah, wad'ya say, Cloud?" Barret asked, his voice slightly teasing.

Cloud sighed. "Let's mosey."

The group shared a laugh.

"You ain't never gonna live that one down," Cid said, thumping him on the back.

**End of Chapter Note:**

_Alright if you haven't played the game Cloud says "Let's mosey" at one point when he wants the party to get going and Barret gets mad and says "There you go again, sayin' it like a whimp. Can't you say move out or something?"_ _Ah_ c_lassic dialogue. How can you not love ff7? Just to be clear I might consider this story AU since some of the dialogue deviates from the original, plus there are extra moments. Don't read this as a game guide, I guess is what I'm trying to say. _


End file.
